Saburo Arasaka
Although he is an ancient fossil and physically decrepit, Saburo Arasaka remains a genius that he always was in his younger years. Consequently, he never gave up his control over the Arasaka Corporation. His eldest son, Kei, is the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation, but that being said Saburo is still the chairman of the board and the true puppeteer behind all the major corporate decisions. Due to his age of 101 (as of 2020) Saburo is confined to a wheelchair. Doctors on multiple occasions have informed him that his body cannot stand anymore cybernetic or organic replacements. As a result of this, he seldom leaves the Arasaka family compound near Tokyo, and he never goes outside his beloved Japan. Despite his disabilities he makes occasional trips to the Tokyo headquarters and the research facility in northern Honshu, however most of his time when he participates in board meetings and ex-executive conferences he does this via two-way screen or in a braindance universe where he appears as a feudal Japanese Lord. Often, his eldest son Kei serves as intermediary. Saburo's private office at the family compound has a terminal interlinked with the R&D computer. From this he can consult the database system or the analysts who worked on it. Saburo is megalomania-cal and obsessed. He is highly arrogant and considers himself the most adept man that has and will ever exist, and he sees it as his duty to elevate Japan to what he believes it as its former glory. He works tirelessly to see this ideal come true. His family believe his dedication to his work is the thing that keeps him alive. Saburo concentrated so hard on building his Empire that he did not even begin having children until he was in his 60s. He firmly believes in the traditional Japanese values and enforces them rigidly at the family compound. He also maintains a classical decor inside the compound, dismissing any non-functional modern appointing. Saburo plans to have his personality downloaded to an AI at the moment of his death. The equipment to accomplish this task is always ready twenty-four hours a day at the Arasaka Headquarters infirmary in Tokyo. A special team is on call everyday to transport him if he takes ill, or suffers any sort of trauma. History Saburo Arasaka was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1919. His father was businessman and Arasaka founder Sasai Arasaka and could trace his lineage back to the age of samurai. He grew up in the Arasaka family estate located just outside of Tokyo and at a young age he joined the Imperial Japanese Navy as a fighter pilot. He quickly rose through the ranks and by the age of 23 he had already attained the rank of Lieutenant. As a skilled flying ace he had over 20 confirmed kills and is said to have a fierce pride both towards his country and the Emperor. In 1942 during a routine bombing run over Guadalcanal his plane was almost shot down, heavily injured he managed the return flight back to base. After delivering his report he passed out and was transported back to Tokyo, where he discovered that due to his injuries he would never be able to fly again and he was also due to be medically discharged. His injuries were so severe that he lost his left eye and his right arm was so damaged, it was almost amputated. Saburo lamented over his injuries and wished he had died a dignified death over the skies of Guadalcanal, rather than face the humiliation of a cripple. Due to the dishonor he bought upon himself and his family, he considered suicide (through Seppuku, ritual suicide]). On August 15th 1945, the day of the Japanese surrender, Saburo got a new lease on life, where he envisioned a Japan rising above the humiliation of losing the war, and becoming an economic powerhouse. He began intense studies into the fields of politics, economics and history as to become a worthy successor to his father and to ensure that Arasaka would one day rule the world. Saburo took over the company in 1960 shortly after his fathers death and branched out from the simple manufacturing that his father started. Banking and Security along with Manufacturing were now the three pillars of the Arasaka Corporation and by the 2020 the company had become one of the most powerful corporations in the world, not to mention during these years Saburo's wealth multiplied tenfold, and he had become one of the richest men on the planet. Saburo had undergone numerous surgeries to implant various cybernetics as well as a new eye and right arm for the ones he lost in World War 2. However, by 2020, he is wheelchair bound in his family‘s estate just outside of Tokyo. As of 2020, he is 101 years old and has handed over the reins of the company to his eldest son Kei, though it is just for show, as Saburo still runs the company from behind the scenes, having final say over everything as his puppet son stands in for him. During the fourth corporate war, the Arasaka Corporation faced off against Militech which resulted in a nuclear bomb being detonated in the center of Night City. Saburo's plan of world domination was becoming a reality as he retreated his forces back to Japan, where it had stockpiled several nuclear missiles with the help of its ally, North Korea. The Japanese Self-Defense force managed to crush Arasaka's forces and delivered Saburo Arasaka's head to the United States. Saburo thought of himself as the Shōgun, a military dictator that rules over even that of the emperor, and it was at this time that the company was referred to as The Arasaka Shogunate. Goals Like his samurai ancestors, Saburo was incredibly proud and honorable, and after his humiliating and crippling defeat in WW2 he planned to restore his honor by seppuku. He attempted this on August 15th 1945, during the Emperor Hirohito's surrender speech to the nation. It was this event that made him realize that Japan would never become the militaristic power it once was, but rather it could evolve into an economical and commercial power that could rule east asia once again and possibly the world. Saburo began to study to one-day take control over his fathers company and to use his vast amounts of wealth to catapult the Arasaka Corporation onto the world stage. Saburo uses three key areas of his company as tools to further his plans, the security division, the bank and the secretive black operations. Within a month of his fathers passing black operations such as blackmail, bribery, extortion, assassination and abduction were already underway. These black operations usually uncover dirt on important figures such as politicians, celebrities and other corporate types, which Saburo uses against them—never for money—but for influence and information. As well as these black operations the company uses its security division to steal information from its own clients, who it had sworn to protect. The corporation has never been caught and the data stolen is not sold on for profit, but rather for Saburo to use the trends in the data to influence business decisions for the most profitable outcome. The bank is primarily used as a bargaining tool against other corporations that may be failing and need a previous load to stay afloat, but it has been known to be used for money laundering between Arasaka and the dummy corporations it owns. Family * Sasai Arasaka – Father * Yui Arasaka - Mother (Deceased) * Michiko Arasaka - Third Wife * Ayako Arasaka - Second Wife (Unknown) * Naomi Arasaka - First wife (Unknown) * Kei Arasaka – Eldest Son * Hanako Arasaka – Daughter * Yorinobu Arasaka – Youngest Son References MOSS, W. Corporation Report 2020 Volume 1. 1st ed. Berkeley CA: R. Talsorian Games, 1991 PONDSMITH, M. Cyberpunk v3.0. 1st ed. Berkeley CA: R. Talsorian Games, 2005 Category:Cyberpunk 2020 Characters Category:Central Characters Category:Cyberpunk V3.0 Characters